$175M in taxes come in by new deadline
Despite 2-month extension, collection rates similar to what they were pre-COVID
NORWALK — Norwalk’s decision to allow a 60-day grace period for tax payments is paying off.
Due to the coronavirus, the Common Council decided in April to let Norwalk residents pay taxes without penalty up until Oct. 1 instead of the usual due date of Aug 1. Municipalities across the state could choose this, reducing the interest rate for late taxes or a combination of both.
As of late September, the tax collector’s office had collected more than 50 percent — or over $ 175 million — of the $350 million-plus adjusted current tax levy on the grand list, according to a memo from Tax Collector Lisa Biagiarelli to the Common Council. This is about 2 percent less than what was collected last September, likely due to payments still coming in by Oct. 1, Biagiarelli wrote. The bulk of this has come from car taxes.
Biagiarelli and Norwalk’s Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz told the Common Council at its Oct. 13 meeting that the numbers are promising given the new deadline.
“We were a little bit concerned how this would go since we’d never done it before,” Biagiarelli said. “We tried to make it as easy as possible for taxpayers. It was very well received.”
Dachowitz added collections are up by $ 6.5 million due to the increased levy, putting the city in a good financial position and holding up revenues as hoped
during an uncertain financial time. He said the city could see “historic” collection rates.
“We feel comfortable and confident saying the extension of the grace period achieved its goal which was to give some relief to our citizens,” he said. “It appears that the restraint we showed in increasing the mill rate and the grace period has given some relief and allowed us to collect on a regular basis. ... We’ve had this uptick. We’re not sure how it’s going to affect us financially, but on the revenue side with real estate taxes, I’m pleased with what I’ve seen so far.”
As of the end of September, the city had also collected more than $ 8.3 million (or 49.58 percent) of the sewer use levy and 41 percent of the year’s Industrial Pretreatment Program fee on behalf of the Water Pollution Control Authority. This is slightly behind last year.
“Because the IPP fee is billed on the business personal property bill, it stands to reason the drop would be more substantial there, as businesses are taking advantage of the extended grace period,” Biagiarelli wrote in her memo. “Again, we will know better where we stand, and we expect these
numbers to smooth out, after we conclude processing and posting mailed payments later this week.”
The city has also collected over $ 1.5 million in back taxes, interest, lien fees and other fees,
which is about $46,000 less than they had this time last year.
Biagiarelli said the Tax Collector’s office remained open during COVID-19 and residents could come pay at the payment station at the
front of City Hall during weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. without an appointment. This will be moved inside, likely by the end of October, to allow people to pay taxes in person without standing in the cold.
Residents can also pay their property taxes by mail, over the phone and online.
The Tax Collector’s office will issue delinquent notices, payable by Oct. 31, when they process their on-time mail.
Second installments will go out mid-December and are payable by Feb. 1 with no plans for an additional grace period.